Taxpayer Activist Dies at GOP Convention

Doug McNea, 64, of San Jose, died while attending the Republican State Convention in Sacramento. A local stalwart of Republican politics, McNea, the head of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, was a five-time candidate for public office in the South Bay, most recently in 2010. In his personal life, he was a Navy vet and nuclear power consultant.

McNea collapsed at the Sheraton Hotel in Sacramento, while attending a dance party thrown by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy for convention attendees. He was rushed to the hospital and died that night.

The following day, convention attendees held a moment of silence in his honor. City Councilmember Pete Constant, who was also at the convention, noted that McNea, “went doing something he was passionate about—being here at the Republican convention advocating for tax issues.